(antana's "Oye Como Va" plays)
***
Oh,God,grant us such
health of mind and body,
that those evils that we suffer for our sins
we may overcome through Thine assistance.
Let us pray.
Glory be to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,it is
now,and ever shall be,world without end.
Amen.
Do you hear that,ijo?
That is why we do what we do.
I already walked the track,Poppa.
Just be careful around
that clubhouse turn.
They should fire that
new tractor guy,huh?
Turn is rockier than my second marriage.
Just keep him tight on the inside,Poppa,and
then give him his head and let him run.
You worry too much,Jose.
The th annual running of the
William Penn Million Dollar Derby.
One more,mijo... then
I go home to Mexico.
****
Construction crew doing renovations at the
Franklin racetrack here dug up this old horse grave.
Right here,outside the track?
Horse breaks its leg in a race,weight's
too much for it to heal right.
They euthanized 'em for
humanitarian reasons.
Lot of dead horses.
Standard procedure back in the day.
Nothing standard about these remains.
M.E. says it's small for a femur.
Adult male,maybe five-two.
Decomposed silks,riding
pants,leather boots.
They sh**t jockeys back then,too?
It's a money clip,initialed "S.S."
- Maybe a hundred bucks.
- I.D.?
Just a couple old business cards.
Track comp cards for guests and family.
Ten digits.It's pretty faded.
Could be a bank account,phone number.
Racing silks,boots,all
decked out and rarin' to go.
Someone didn't want this jockey
to make it to the fini l lin
The money clip belongs to a
jockey named Sonny Sandoval.
M.E.'s checking dental to confirm I.D.,said
the guy had over healed bone fractures.
Except these.
Multiple puncture wounds
at the back of the skull.
Got CSU looking into it.
Well,the son,Jose,tried to file a
missing persons report back in ' .
Didn't fit the criteria.
He was a legal adult,no sign of foul
play,no indication he was in danger.
Last seen Labor Day,right after
he lost the William Penn Derby Cup.
Sandoval had lifetime earnings over $ million,yet
his house was about to be foreclosed on.
Hmm,bank account statements?
Still digging.His bank got
bought out twice since ' .
Last one went belly
up,taken over by the Feds.
Well,Jose states that his father
might've taken a flyer here and there.
Around all that action,sooner or
later you're gonna shake the baby.
- Gambling problem,multiple ex-wives...-
Gee,I wonder where the money went.
Coulda been in deep to
somebody.Madeure e heaid up.
Dug his own grave.
You know,for a guy who liked to sh**t the
works,Sandoval's record's clean,not even a parking ticket.
Yeah,no official record.
- Sonny "Mil Hombres" Sandoval.- Mil
Hombres-- "strength of a thousand men?"
He needed it,keep up with the
ladies he was pulling down.
Sonny was a rock
star£º women,money,cars.
He got mixed up in any trouble,PPD gave
him a pass just like Iverson and Barkley.
Come on!
Jockeys?
Those knee knockers gethe ladies?
Hmm,still a man on a horse.
Confident,athlete... Winning combo.
I'm saying this town loves a winner.
Somebody sh**t me.
I'll b*at the bushes with the local
bookies and loan sharks.See what falls out.
You know,says here it took Jose
days to report his father missing.
He's still a trainer there.
Let's hit the track.
***
At first I thought he
went back to Mexico.
When I couldn't find him I knew
something bad had happened to him.
Just didn't think it happened here.
You know anything about that grave,Jose?
No,just there was a barn
back there for the old horses,
but Poppa always got the ones on the
way up,not the ones on the way out.
When's the last time
you saw your old man?
When he lost the William Penn
Derby in ' .Really tore him up.
You two close?
Poppa was my hero.
I wanted to be a jockey just like him--
but I hit a growth spurt when I was .
Only kid in America upset about it.
So close,yet it took you nearly
a month to file a police report.
Look,it wasn't uncommon for Poppa
to take off after a tough loss.
He was always talking
about going back to Mexico.
Figured he just put
himself out to pasture.
Understand Sonny liked the
ponies on and off the track.
It's not worth rehashing.
Let's just say he liked a lot of
things that weren't good for him.
Mil Hombres con Mil Vicios.
Sorry,man,no hablo espal.
Born and raised in Philly.
Me,too.
Your dad in big to anyone?
I wouldn't know.
Poppa kinda told me things
on a need to know basis.
Anyone else have a
beef with your old man?
Poppa usually carried the beef.
You know,he had a big heart,but
people liked to take advantage.
People like who?
Poppa's bug boy.
I told the cops back in the day,gave that
guy everything,did nothing but betray him.
- Bug boy?- He's a jockey's
apprentice-- to your dad?
Angelo Rivera,turned out
to be a worthless ingrate.
- Had to have the guy arrested.
- Yeah,for what?
He stole Poppa's money and
jewelry to feed his drug habit.
Guy was a fiend.
Que en paz descanse.
Sonny was like a father to me.
Cut from the same cloth,two
poor kids from Mexico.
Sounds like you learned a lot from him.
The man I am today...
is because of Sonny.
That why you stole from him,Angelo?
He had you arrested.Pressed charges.
Espate.Espate.You got that wrong.
It wasn't your first time to the dance.
You got popped twice on meth charges.
I broke my collarbone riding,I
started taking painkillers.
I have that kinda brain,you
know,that can't shut it off.
Before I knew it I was snorting
it,I was sh**ting it.I just gotost.
I'll say.One more strike and you
were lookin' at some serious time.
Yeah,but Sonny disappeared.Case got thrown
out.Lucky for you,he wound up in that hole.
You knew about that horse grave?
I heard the rumors,but I never saw it.
Not drawing a very
convincing alibi,Angelo.
I was messed up,man.
Bottomed out,baking
donuts in the Badlands.
You trickin' for dr*gs?
Look,the only person I hurt was myself.
After Sonny disappeared,I got help.
elelg g ilty.
No. Fed up.
I got clean,and dedicated my
life to helping these kids.
These kids need somebody to believe
in them,like Sonny believed in me.
An unbelievable finish as the
rookie from Esteros,Mexico,
Angelo Rivera gets his first win
riding "Little Hope" to victory.
("Everything's Coming our Way" plays)
"Can't" he said,huh?
Born with it!
This kid is the next Mil Hombres. Huh?
e dije,hijastro?
- S?You told me.
- ***
Box me in,grab my horse's bridle?
That's taking food
off my family's table.
You boxed yourself in,Ric,okay?Don't blame
the kid because you tied one on last night.
That was a Mil Hombres move.
Even tugged his
head.You taught him that!
Do what you got to do to win.
It's the name of the game.
Maybe I'll take your advice,Sonny.
Do what I gotta do.
Ric Yanko,rival jocke
Always eating Sonny's dust.
Shoulda put that shrimp on the barbie.
Aussie still around?
He owns a bar near the track.
- Still riding?
- Nah,but he had his day.
Ric never got a good horse
until Sonny disappeared.
Then he became the
track's number one rider.
Looked like an S&M joint back
there,all those whips and leather.
Riding crops.
Same thing.
Well,a whip's meant to inflict pain.
A riding crop's to motivate.
You're startin' to scare me,Lil.You don't
strike me as the National Velvet type.
After my dad left,uh,my
mom needed a job.
Didn't notice she was
juiced.She became a ticket taker.
Your ma worked the track?
Races were over I'd wait for
her to count out her drawer.
Sit in the stands,do my homework.
It's probably not the best
place to leave a kid alone.
Not all bad.
Got to know some of the
old-timers,the rail birds.
- They all had one thing in common...
- Yeah,compulsive gambling.
Dreamers.
Always hoping tomorrow's
better than today.
***
Depends who's asking,mate.
Oh,yeah?
Well drinks are on the house,Johnnie.Food
you pay for,like everybody else.
Detectives,mate.
And we ain't here for the cuisine.
- Sonny Sandoval.
- Oh,yeah?
That bloke finally show up off
his face in Mexico somewhere?
Found Sonny's remains in an old
horse grave at the back of the track.
No kidding?
And that concerns me how?
Your career really took
off once he was gone.
I didn't need to k*ll Sonny to b*at him.
The old git was falling
off all on his own.
Maybe you were in a hurry.
Well,maybe you should get your story
straight,'cause Sonny made me a better rider.
Yeah,like when the rookie whipped you,and Sonny
manhandled you in front of the other ckeys?
Manhandled me?
I've broken every bone
in my body twice,mate.
You want a medal?
, -pound horse
shattered my pelvis in ' .
If you've gosomething to say,say it.
I hope the horse was okay.
Look here,there was a
lot of money on the table.
Peop lost their cool.
But all said and done,we
were still jockeys.
And you wore funny costumes.So what?
People have no idea what we endure.
Flipping to make weight.
You know what it's
like toeigh pounds?
Not since fifth grade.
It's a brotherhood,jockeys.
And there was no better friend a jockey
could have... than Sonny Sandoval.
Vamanos,huh?
(intro to Santana's "Evil Ways" plays)
So the doc tells me that he
wants to put a pin in my knee.
What do u need that for?
So I could keep kicking
your dingo ass,Yanko.
Broke my kneecap so many times,he
thought I would be crippled for life.
Told him... "Go to hell!
" Won over a hundred races since then,
and can still dance the Jarabe
Tapat with the best of them,huh?
I love it.
it's Baxter.
Hide your money.
Send that tab over to my table,if
you will,partner,and just cut him off.
He's got to make weight,and
these beers ain't heing.
I'll take care of the tab,Chris.
And another round for everyone.
You forget who owns you,Sonn
- Don't have a problem when I'm winning.
- But you're not.
So suggest you better turn it around before
you have a problem that can't be fixed.
Owners,jockeys--
love-hate relationship.
You got to hand it to old Sonny,though.
That bloke had a pair.
Why didn't Baxter just fire Sonny
for being such a thorn in his side?
Couldn't.
Sonny had a three-year
contract,paidid h,win or lose.
Sweet al for Sonny.
Especially since he was in a slump.
Baxter came back that
night,found Sonny at the bar.
Told him he was worth more
dead to him than alive.
Randall Baxter?
I'm gearing up for
theelbourne Cup there,fellas.
I ait in no mood for
no interviews today.
Well,get in the mood.
You remember Sonny Sandoval?
Yeah,I heard about
that.That's a terrible thing.
I understand you buried a
few of your horses back there.
Well,sometimes horses
have to be put down.
How about jockeys?
Now,hold on here.Why would I want to
get rid of Sonny?He was one of my best.
Well,way we hear it,he was
losi more than he was winning.
Guanteed contract was
costing you major moolah.
Sonny was a champion.You
ow,you can't teach that.
He still had the ability to pull it
out if he just had his head on straight.
Saying it wasn't?
Well,he started losing focus,you know?And
his-his sense of priorities were whacked out.
- Why is that?
- Why else?
He started listening to a woman.
Should have never hired
that female trainer.
She was bad luck.
(intro to Santana's
"Black Magic Woman" plays)
Who told you?
- e of the farmhands did.-
Fine.Here,hold-hold it.
Why did u scratch Firewalker,Baxter?
'Cause Firewalker can't'win.
Th horse would rather die than lose.
Well,then hisegs ain't as
strong as his heart anymore.
First time he's been healthy in a year.
Tell you what.He
loses,you keep my money.
No,I can't risk
that,Sonny.It's too big a race.
- We had a plan.
- Well,the plan's changed.
Firewalker's going out to
stud.Hell,we should all be so lucky.
Either Firalker races,or I quit.
You better check your contract,hombre,'cause
you race for me,or you don't race at all.
Now,you're on Sapphire,so deal with it.
Sapphire's too young.
You're racing her too much.You're
taking her alon too fast.
She's gonna end up with the
same injuries Firewalker got.
When did you become
such an amal lover,Sonny?
Put that on the list of things
you don't know about me,Randall.
You saddle up on Sapphire,or you sit out the
remaining two years of your contract,unpaid.
That was the beginning of t end.
He lost his competitive edge.
That o girl filled his head wi all kinds of ideas
about how horses should be eating organic hay
and drinking room temperature water.
The horror.
Lady Macbethot a name?
Yeah.Kristi,uh,Duren.
She made him soft.
It's the last thing a jockey c be.
Sounds like she wasn't
just groong the horses.
Yeah,the last I heard,she
moved in with him.
I fired her ass a day
too late,if you ask me.
Located a Kristi Duren.
Trainer in Saratoga.She's in the city.
On her way down now.
Who sent the goods?What have we got?
You have a message from the Pennsylvania
Treasury Department,and the boss wants to see you.
What?
Your mama didn't teach you how to share?
You rang?
You get a hit on that number yet?
Sonny had a safe deposit
box at another bank branch.
ate escheated it due to inactivit
It's beesitting up in Harrisburg
at the Pennsylvania Treasury
Department for the last years.
All right,get a subpoena,send
a uniform up there.
Yeah.
Uh,one other thing,Nick.
- I just saw this.
- Oh,yeah.
That joker Sadowsky in Vice took this
after I worked a double last week.
- I was up all night.- It got
e-mailed around the department.
Guy's just breaking my balls.
It made its way up to the Deputy
Commissioner.He wants you to get a physical.
A physical?
What's that got to do
th he taking a few winks?
Pencil pusher wants to send a message.
You opened the door.
- It's a bunch of bull.
- Just do it,Nick.
Hard business for a woman
to break into back then.
Sonny helped me get
my first training job.
He saw something in you.
The man had a good soul.
Loved horses,loved horse people.
Like you?
I stayed with him whenever I wasn't
on the road and needed a place to crh.
ll,that come free,or with benefits?
What happened to Sonny?
Found his remains in an old horse
grave at the back of the track.
Horse pit.
That what they called it?
For the horses they
put down at the track?
That,and the old horses that
got slaughtered for their meat.
Slaughtered?For meat?
From stable to table,in
Japan within days.
Racing's dirty little secret.
Well,Sonny know about that back then?
Suspected as much.A
horsis an investment.
Some owners try to eke
out every last dollar.
I just opened Sonny's
eyes to that reality.
Baxter didn't appreciate it.
Kind of getting the feelg that you
and Sonny were re than just bunkmates.
Fell for the old guy.
Taught mso much about horses,life.
I knew he needed someone
to take care of him.
Cared so much that you didn't even
come forward when he disappeared.
Only 'cause Sonny had
already pushed me away.
Where the hell is Jose?I
called him three times.
Stop worrying.Relax.
You should take that
job in Saratoga,Kristi.
Can't.I'm training you and Sapphire.
Ah,Sapphire's had trainers.
But you break that maiden there
with its bodline,you got a career.
I want to be with you.
Ten years ago,I'd give you a n for your money,but
this ride is slowing down to a light trot.
You're the best jockey
I've ever seen,Sonny.
What has it gotten me,hmm?
Doesn't matter how much
money,how many res I win.
I'm still just a monkey
to Baxter's organ grinder.
That's not true.
Then why am I not riding
Firewalker in my last race,hmm?
I'm years old,and I can
barely climb out of the tub.
- Take the job,Kristi.
- I'm here,Pop.
Don't look back.
Next day,I was out
as Sapphire's trainer.
Packed my stuff,went to
Saratoga.Been there ever since.
What were Sonny and Jose fighting about?
They always spoke in Spanish when
they didn't want me to understand.
In Spanish?
Had to guess,it was probably
about Jose's money problems.
Oh,like father like son.
The gambling problems run in theamily?
No,just Jose.
Sonny had a lot of vices,but
gambli wasn't one of them.
CSU says these puncture wounds at the
back of Sonny's skull are equally spaced,
likely caused by some sharp instrument.
Well,uld be a rake.Pitchfork?Something
from the stables.
Bunch of cashed checks made out
to Jose from Sonny's bank count.
Sonny didn't have a
gambling problem.Jose did.
So,why did he lie about that?
Or saking Spanish?
And what else does Jose got to hide?
Perdon,u?hora es?
- Son veinte despues de las...
- Hola,Jose.
Sure sounded like Spanish to me.
VALENS: What,you ashamed
of being Mexican,boss?
My mother came to thisououry
and cleaned people's homes.
Wanted me to assimilate.Speak Englis
Still no reason to lie about it.
Every time I speak Spanish,it
reminds me of Poppa.
It hurts too much.
Kinda like his gamblg problem.
- There's no need to dredge that up.
- Because it wasn't his problem.
It was yours.
Pop got tired of digging
you out.Cut you off.
It took you a month to file a police
report.Waiting for that trail to go cold.
- No,it wasn't like that.
- What was it like,Jose?
I'm starting to lose
track of all your lies.
LookI had a problem,okay?
And I caused my Pop a lot of pain.
But he made damn sure I paid him back.
- With what?
- My back.
He needed a new trainer for Sapphire.
And I needed to provmyself.
Les go,Sapphire.
Okay,cool her down.
She's a little washy.
Anxious.
That's because she's been red too much.She's
probably getting shin splints already.
Listen,Poppa.
I'm done this time,for real.
No short cuts,Jose.
A man has to have a
purpose-- a calling.
It's a gift to have un
don con los caballos.
- Special bond with the horses.
- S?and you have it.
The horse knows who to trust.
Who to fear.Who to layt all down for.
Like Firewalker.
When I first saw him run... ...this
old dust track in New Mexico...
just a two-year-old,small for his age...
not the fastest,not thstronoest horse.
-to-
odds.
- Won by three lengths.
- It's unbelievable.
Mm-hmm,taken that horse from last to
first more times than I can rember.
A scrapper.Warrior.
Leaves it all on the track.
Why isn't he racing in the derby then?
Ah,people don't care about what you
did,they only care about what you're doing.
You'll win with Sapphire,though,right?
Sapphire hasn't lo a race yet.
If she loses it's my fault.
L gate,sinverguenza!L gate!
Andale!L gate!L gate!
No te metas en lo que no te importa!
- L gate!L gate!Vete!
- Suelta la pala a ver que Vete!
It only took him years to
tell me I was good at something.
It was like we just turned a
corner,and then he was gone.
So,who was the guy in the
truck,spooking the horses?
Juan Diaz.
worked out of the back barn.
Seeing if we were
selling any old horses.
Sold off to market for the meat?
People turned a blind eye to
what happened to the old horses.
Poppa said he couldn't do it anymore.
had Diaz banned from the track.
Well,that back barn was near
where the horse grave was?
tiit b*rned wn.
I don't know if Diaz dug that
grave,but he had to know it was there.
We'll be in touch,Jos
Hot date?
Eh,something I gotta check on.
I'll meet you back at the roundhouse?
Mijo!
What's wrong?
Shoes didn't fit?
Don't think I can return them.
Ah,no,no.
Look,Ma tell you she hurt her knee?
Maybe.
You know your mother.She talks a lot.
Some I hear,some not so much.
This havanything to do with her
taking cash from our bank account?
Just try to remember,Pop.
Oh,uh,I was watching the Phillies
game,the one that ended in the triple play.
- Kid on second base,unassisted...
- Bruntlett,yeah,b*at the Mets.
What happened with Ma?
She went to Dayley's market late to pick up
some seafood and rice to make me some paella.
- She slipped and fell.
- And that's it?
Yeah,she came home,took
a shower and went to bed.
What about the paella?
She said she was tired.I
had a frozen dinner instead.
That's Dayley's at th and Fairmount?
No,the one on Spring Garden.
Your mom says they have
better produce there.
Everything okay?
Yeah,yeah,Pop,everhing's fine.
- Okay.
- Wow,estas flaco.
Si,si,si.Estas flaco.
Banana bread.
Put nuts in it this year.
Never misses an anniversary.
e mother.
Wanda Johnson.
Left for school,never came home.
How long h it been?
years.
Won't let .
You call her back yet?
Just tbreak her heart all over again.
No new leads.
No sense to be made of it.
When you get ready to
make the call,usmy office.
Yeah.
How the hell did you
end up in Willmsport?
Car's got GPS,Wayne.
Well,turn on the lights and lead-foot it to
Harrisburg before the Treury closes at : .
I need that box!
Knucklehead's gotta
be relad to somebody.
Looks like the Meat Man
got his ticket punched.
STILLMAN: Juan Diaz,deported by INS.
RUSH: Yeah,impounded
his truck back in ' .
Found a track parking pass,butcher
tools and a stunbo g*n.
- Put a horse down fast.
- Or a jockey for good.
We even know ife's alive?
Just that Diaz got
deported to Esteros,Mexico.
And Angelo Rivera is from Esteros.
, .
Sonny's bug boy comes fr
the same small town as Diaz.
Ends up working the same
place, , miles away.
Angelo worked for the Meat Man.
Knew damn well ere that grave was.
Okay,you guys go brush the horses.
Taco de caballo.
Ever makcarne asada
from horse meat,Angelo?
Back in Esteros?
That some kind of sick joke?
Sick all right,but no joke.
You working with Juan Diaz?
Know a lot of Juan Diazes.
Talking about the one from your
hometown,knucklehead.The Meat Man.
Diaz offered me a way out Esteros.
I needed a job,willing to do anything.
k*lling horses?
I never k*lled a horse.
Just buried what was left.
You know,it made me sick,but
it was part of the business.
That all you buried?Horses?
Come on,guys.
Look,l I ever wanted to be was a jockey.
I owe my career to Sonny.
And your life to Juan Diaz.
Soy had him banned from t
track.Lost his livelihood.
Guy who gave you your start.
VALENS: You dug that grave.Put
Sonny's body where it'd never be found.
No.Juan got me here...
but Sonny gave me my dream.
And I threw it all away.
Hed about whatappened to Firewalker.
Sorry.
It was no accident.
I'm not gonna let Baxter
get away with it this time.
Be careful,Sonny.Don't want
to see you get blackballed.
End of t line for me,mi amigo.
My last race,was gonna
ride Firewalker out.
Son of a bitch Baxter has
taken that away from me.
Firewalker deserved better.
k*lling horses for money has to end.
We all get thrown away
when we can't win anymore.
Unless you keep winning.
Slow down,k.
- u're gonna end up like me.
- One ll of a jockey?
Broke.Whizzing blood.Lucky
to have one kidney working.
pounds.Getting on a thousand-pou
animal going miles an hour.
And you're not even straight.
Like you always taught me,do
whatever I have to do to win.
I was wrong.
I'm worried about you,Angelo.
I'll be fine.Never felt better.
Is that why you stole from me?
I was gonna pay you back.
You want to pay me back?
ke care of yourself.
Sonny was right.
Horses,jocks,were all disposable.
One day you're on top of the
heap and the next,done for gd.
Firewalker-- sold
off to Juan Diaz?
Nostable fire.
But everybody knew it
was an insurance job.
- How sick was Sonny?
- Pretty bad.
But a macho guy like that
never went to a doctor.
Where was he getting all the pain pills?
Track vets will ok you
up for the right price.
But for him,it st wasn't enough anymore.
Neither is your alibi,Angelo.You're
coming in with us.
I understand your champion
horse,Firewalker,d*ed in a stable fire in ' ?
Casualty of the business.
You know,we can put a man on the
moon,but we still make barns out of wood.
You were investigated for
insurance fraud in ' .
Stallion named Bloodline.
Lost three champion horses over
a -ye period to barn fires.
That's a lot of accidents.
Well,it happens to
the best of us,partner.
But I'm gonna tell ya'll just like
I told them insurance investigators.
Why in the hell would I wanna k*ll a horse
that I paid nearly a million dollars for?
That's exactly what we
were asking ourselves.
Until we saw this.
This insurance cla.
Made two million dollars when
Firewalker went up in smoke.
And another mil and
a half for Bloodline.
Well,that right there is just peanuts in
comparison to what I spend each year on stud fee.
Guess they outlive their
use,like Firewalker.
You really know how to squeeze
a dollar out of a horse.
Dead or alive.
Well,I'm going to take
that as a compliment.
That is,unless y'all know something
those insurance investigators don't.
Oh,we know Sonny was going to
rat you out afr that big race.
Couldn't afford that kind of attention.
Open up another arson investigation.
So,you put him in a hole.
I didn't k*ll that old cuss.
But I should've.
Thank y'all for coming.
("Jin Go Lo Ba" by Santana playing)
This is why they call
this the Sport of Kings.
Listen at 'em.They can't
wait to see those beasts run.
It's going to be a good one,sir.
This goes well,you're going to
be training many of my ponies.
Thank you,Mr.Baxter.
They're off and running!
The William Penn Million
Dollar Derby has begun.
Right out of the gate,veteran jockey Sonny Sandoval fillin'
the lane with sto riding Sapphire to the front of e pack.
Steady.
First turn,Sapphire holds his ld,but Little Hope,ridden
by Angelo Rivera,makes his move on the outside.
Come on,Poppa!
They enter the back sttctc Sapphire by a
head,Little Hope running a close second.
Going to break her out of the pack.
No,not yet!
They turn for home,Sapphire breaks
open,runnin' and gunnin' now,ahead a length,
a length and a half.
That's it!Poppa!
Letting out all stops in the final stretch,as
Sapphire kisses the sky and says good-bye.
Wait!
Little Hope pulls within
a length of Sapphire.
What the hell's he doing?!
Little Hope suddenly moves into
the lead,as Sapphire begins to fade.
Little Hope is ahead by a nose,a length.
She's gonna pull off the upset.
Little Hope wins!
Son of a bitch pulled
up on him on purpose!
- Mr.Baxter...
- Shut up,get the hell outta here!
I'm gonna have that taco bender
and your whole family deported!
You know,that was the first
of three heart att*cks.
I spent a month in
recovery at Mercy Hospital.
Sonny choked on purpose.
Over a stupid horse.
Sapphire should've won
that race,sure thing.
Even his son bet ten
large ones on him to win.
So,why'd Sonny do it?
Crackpot,I think he wanted to take
Firewalker back to Mexico with him.
Till you k*lled
Firewalker for the money.
Insurance investigators said in all threreports
that faulty wiring caused those fires.
It's quite a coincidence.
So,another horse dies inhe fire.
Why don't we just call
it a return my investment?
I b*at that thing just like
I did in with Bloodline.
Statute of limitations Detectives.
Is that right?
How's your heart holding up,Randall?
You b*at it in ' 'cause seven years
had passed in that investigation.
Seven years from when t investigation
begins,not when the crime was committed.
Yeah,which in the case of
Firewalker was... an hour ago.
When we called your insurance
company and decided to investigate.
Stand up,Baxter.
You're under arrest for insurance fraud.
From the Treasury Department,I
come bearing gifts.
Sonny's safe deposit box.
Inside,a receipt for a
plot,life insurance policy...
and a copy of his last physical.
Blood in his urine... years ofulimia
and pills... that guy was a mess.
Getting his affairs in order.
And look who he leftt all to.
Standard bow rake.
One-inch width beeen each tooth.
Same exact width between puncture
wounds to the back of Sonny's skull.
Somebody brained your old man,Jose.
A terrible way to go out.
Ever cross your mind your gaming
might've cost your dad his life?
I told you,I cleaned up before that.
Told us a lot of things,Jose.
Truth is you bet large on
your dad,and it cost you big.
e job with Baxter and a lot of coin.
Olman had to go,so you took
him out with a rake like this.
Stable rake.
Anyone at the track had access to that.
Like Angel What I told
you from the start.
Angelo,who won that last
race against your dad?
Yeah. So?
Angelo,who was like a son to him.
Cut from the same
poor streets of Mexico.
Un verdadero Mexicano.
Wished he was his
son.Anloloas a real man.
A jockey.
You... Americanized.
Too big to be a jockey.A gambler.Liar.
You did nothing but cost him.
At least I wasn't a scumbadrug addict.
und Sonny's life insurance policy.
Life insance?My old man?
Oh,yeah.
Guess who he left everything to?
And I'd be worried if my
son was a compulsive gambler.
Why waste the money?
It makes perfect sense
who he left his money to..
- Yeah.
- Who? Kristi? Angelo?
Firewalker?They all came before me.
He paid off your debts.
To save himself from embarrassment.
The great Sonny Sandoval
couldn't have a loser for a son.
If he'd just won that last
race,you'd have been rollin'.
Damn right.
But no,he h to pull up.
Just to make a point.
Yeah,that he never cared about me.
You're wrong,Jose.
The weight loss,injuries,pills--
hatakekeits toll.
Sonny's inteal organs
were shutting down.
Your pop was making plans to
take care of those he left behind.
My father was dying?
yeah Still managed to make
that last payment,though.
And you were sole beneficiary.
Left you $ million.
Even after all you put him through...
...he still loved you,Jose.
I don't understand.
Why couldn't he just tell me?
You happy now?
I'm free,mijo.
I borrowed ten G's.
What?
You promised me,Jose.You
gave myoyo word.
I bet itll on you... to win.
Mijo,why?
When was the last time
you bet on me,Poppa?
Son?
- You're sick,oka u need help.
- Then help me!
- I tried.
- You tried?
By-by-by tanking the race
so that Angelo could win?!
I'm your son!Not Angelo!
I-I couldn't win another race for
Baxter after what he did to Firewalker.
But I'm the one that pays.
Poppa,it cost me money and a job!
I have failed you.
I did not want this life for you.
Wanted you to be better than me.
I made so many mistakes.
It's time everyone knows the truth,okay?These
horses deserve bette and so do jockeys.
What are you talking about?
Poppa,f you do that,they blackball
me.I'll never be hired as a trainer again!
- No,you'll get help.It'll be okay.Trust me.
- No,no,Poppa.
Dot worry.I will take care
of everything,mijo.You'll see.
I'm so sick... I'm so sick
and tired of waing for you!
("Samba Pa Ti" by Santana playing)